ASTRID'S POV.
"I, ALPHA HALFDAN SAGE REJECT YOU, ASTRID SAFIYA AS MY MATE AND LUNA, I CAN'T HAVE A WEAK LOOKING OMEGA AS MY MATE WHEN I CAN HAVE CAMILLA BY MY SIDE!!!"
Alpha Halfdan's words struck me like a barrage of razor-sharp knives, cutting through my soul with an intensity that left me gasping for air.
My eyes welled up with tears, the pain so profound that it clouded my vision, and my hands instinctively gripped my chest, as if trying to contain the overwhelming anguish and regret that surged within me.
"What?" I stammered, my voice faltering, lips trembling in a mixture of terror and awe as I beheld the scene unfolding before my eyes.
"You heard me loud and clear, Astrid! How can I possibly have a Luna like you when I already have Camilla by my side?" His words hung in the air, a crushing weight that echoed through the space between us.
In that moment, I felt the ground shift beneath me, as if reality itself were betraying the foundation of my existence.
I watched in agonising slow motion as his arms wrapped possessively around Camilla's waist, drawing her closer to him, a cruel smirk playing on his lips like a puppet master revelling in my unravelling emotions.
The sight carved through my heart like a serrated blade, leaving me suspended in a suffocating silence.
He callously turned to look at her, sealing their closeness with a kiss on the lips, utterly unconcerned by my presence mere feet away.
The blatant disregard for the bond we once cherished as mates intensified the ache in my chest.
On my 24th birthday, the last thing I anticipated was seeing my own mate; the one for whom I had sacrificed my position as the Alpha's daughter; to cheat on me with my cousin or, worse yet, reject me.
The weight of all my sacrifices pressed down on my heart, and as if the entire world had crumbled around me, I found myself sprawled on the ground.
Tears streamed down my face, a silent indication of the pain that gripped me, while my hand clutched my chest as if trying to hold together the shattered pieces of my soul, drowned in a sea of sorrow and remorse.
"I can't believe you wanted to spend the rest of your life with this weak bitch!" Camilla hissed, her words laced with venom, as she abruptly pulled away from the embrace, breaking the kiss with Alpha Halfdan.
"Spend my life with her? Why should I do that?" Halfdan sneered and scoffed, his derisive tone cutting through the air like a blade.
His eyes rolled dismissively, fixing on me with a contemptuous gaze that felt like a direct attack on my wounded heart.
"After all I've done for you, Halfdan! After making significant sacrifices to…" I began to protest, my voice choked with emotion, but before I could finish my sentence, Camilla strode over to where I knelt.
With a swift and merciless motion, she smacked me hard across the face, the force of the blow causing my hair to cascade backward.
The sharp sting on my cheek mirrored the ache in my heart.
"Close that trap of yours, bitch! If you don't know what to say, leave! You can't just walk in here and expect my MATE to choose you as his Luna, can you?" Camilla's words cut through the air with a sharpness that matched the intensity of her actions. It was shocking too
My attention shifted abruptly to Halfdan, whose smile seemed insidious.
"What? Are you surprised to discover she's my mate?" Alpha Halfdan advanced towards where I knelt, a smirk playing on his lips.
Crouching down to my eye level, his words echoed in my ears, sending shockwaves through my heart.
"Astrid, listen up… All I ever wanted was the pack, but guess what? Your father rejected you, and I couldn't keep kissing those filthy lips of yours knowing the pack wouldn't be mine! I'm sorry, Astrid, but you were being so foolish to think I'd love you." He exclaimed, his words piercing my heart even more, before rising to his feet.
He turned around to meet Camilla, but my words stopped him in his tracks.
"But what about the mate bond? I felt the bond! You are my mate! Camilla can't be your mate!" I cried as I attempted to grasp the entire situation. It was heartbreaking to witness what was happening before me.
"The mate bond?" He turned to me, coldly stating, "There was no mate bond, Astrid. You were only enchanted by the witches' tricks and your foolish love for me!"
His words hit me like a punch to the gut, and Camilla promptly handed him a file, which he received with a disdainful expression on his face.
"Let's end this once and for all, Astrid…" He removed a document from the file and, after briefly gazing at it, he tossed it to me on the ground. "Sign the papers and now!!!"
I looked down at the papers in front of me, and to my surprise, one of the papers he requested me to sign was a divorce document.
My tears soaked several of the papers. I wasn't just being rejected; I was about to sign divorce papers with the Alpha I had always lusted after, the Alpha I thought was my mate, and the Alpha I had given up everything for.
"No! No! I can't sign this! Something must be wrong somewhere!" I pleaded, desperation in my voice, as I lifted my eyes to meet Alpha Halfdan and instinctively reached to grip onto his legs.
"Please don't do this to me...please! I can't... I can't let go of..." I was on the verge of continuing my desperate plea, begging him to reconsider his rejection and take me back into his embrace, but before I could utter another word, Camilla abruptly stepped in.
With a swift, heartless motion, she kicked me directly in the stomach, the pain cutting through me as I crumpled backward, the world spinning in a dizzying whirlwind of betrayal and agony.
A sharp wince escaped my lips as I clutched my stomach, and in the next moment, blood spilled from my nose, staining the paper in front of me.
"Look what you've made me do, cousin…" she sneered vilely.
"Now, sign the paper and leave! You have no right to be here!!!" Camilla growled, her words dripping with disdain as she pressed me to comply with the painful reality closing in around me.
Turning slowly, pain etched across my face, I met Alpha Halfdan's cruel stare, and a wave of anguish flooded my heart. Reluctance hung heavy in my eyes; I didn't want to do it, but the combined force of their pressure left me with no choice.
I grabbed the paper in my palm and staggering, I stood up, my attention riveted on both of them.
"You want me to sign these documents? I will, but I want to hear it from Alpha Halfdan! I want to hear you say, "You do not want me and have never loved me."
I whimpered softly, silently begging the moon goddess that he wouldn't say it, that he'd see his faults and return to loving me.
I was determined to forgive him and show him that he was wrong to have fucked my cousin on my birthday, rejected me, and handed me a divorce document to sign.
"You want an affirmation?" He scoffed as he moved closer to me. His hand reached for my hair, and he tucked a few strands behind my ear menacingly.
"You'll get it my pretty love…" Just when I believed he was going to appeal for pity and forgiveness, the worst happened.
In a sudden and brutal move, Alpha Halfdan seized my neck, forcefully thrusting me backward until my back crashed against the unyielding wall.
"Half…" I struggled to say, my voice choked, as I fought to break free from his relentless grip on my neck.
The air refused to enter my lungs, leaving me gasping for breath, trapped in a suffocating pain.
"You brought this on yourself, Astrid. You wanted to know if I meant what I said to you? Okay… here it is!"
Alpha Halfdan's words dripped with a sinister edge as he licked his bottom lip in a crazed manner, redirecting his attention to Camilla, who instantly understood his sign.
Camilla abruptly closed in on me, seizing my hand and delivering a ruthless punch with a pin, causing my blood to stream out in a painful cascade.
"Ahhh!!" I cried out in pain, the harshness of their actions cutting through me like a relentless storm.
She picked up the divorce papers, and with a half-smile curling on her lips, she callously stamped them with the blood that had flowed from my finger.
When Alpha Halfdan realised she was done, he let go of my neck, making me battle to catch my breath.
I was still trying to understand what had happened when Camilla grabbed my hand and took me out of the house.
"Get out and never return, you bitch!!!" She shoved me out of the house, and I fell on the ground.
She shut the door in my face, leaving me alone outside the house in the dark.
A torrent of tears streamed down my cheeks, and all I wanted at this point was to repay them, to show them that they weren't supposed to mess with the wrong Omega.
I stood up, anguish still imprinted in my heart. I flagged down a cab, which took me directly to the La'vida Club.
"I bet they wouldn't expect this!!!" I forced a bitter smile on my lips as I entered the mask party and took one of the masks for sale.
The booming roar immediately comforts me. I grabbed a bottle of alcohol and took a large gulp.
I was upset, and when an Omega is heartbroken, she tries to get her mind off the pain.
I noticed someone staring at me as he sipped his drink and just then, I knew I had caught the perfect man for the job to ease my pain.
I instantly approached him and without hesitation, I kissed him on his lips seductively.
I expected him to push me away, but he fucking loved it, and he was going to be the key to getting my payback.
"Make me yours tonight!" I whispered into his ears seductively, and then he rose up, grabbed my hand, and took me into a private room.
He closed the door behind him as soon as we entered. I couldn't see his face; he couldn't see mine.
"As you wish, Princess but don't stop me no matter what!" He curled his arms around my slim waist and rushed my lips possessively in the tense room.
It was only a one-night stand. After all, what would a one-night stand with a masked stranger lead to?